Mated by Marriage

Chapter 7

Chase's POV

I wake up with an ache in my chest that won't go away. It's gnawing, like my wolf is trying to claw its way out of me. I was born with the strongest wolf Silvermoon had seen in decades, but it came with drawbacks. My wolf's aura frightened pack members who didn't know me well, and it was especially aggressive when my emotions ran high. I pace the length of my room as restlessly as my wolf. Today I wish it was aggression my wolf was feeling; instead, my wolf is wallowing in rejection.

After the events of last night, my wolf is fully convinced that Melissa, Meli, is planning to reject us. When she showed up here, my wolf had reacted immediately; he'd known she was mine. When she hadn't reacted, I assumed her wolf was too weak to recognize a mate bond. But then I sensed it at dinner, and I knew that couldn't be it. She hadn't reacted to it during the sparring match, but last night I know she sensed it. She had sensed my wolf, and it scared her. So had she simply been uninterested in our bond before last night and was ignoring it? Her wolf was almost certainly strong enough to do that. Or had she known all along and was trying to keep the peace? That didn't make sense either, though; if she was trying to keep the peace, she wouldn't have kissed me back last night. My head was suddenly reeling with a million possibilities, and I felt myself slowly giving in to my wolf's despair.

I stop pacing and rummage around in my pockets for my phone. I need to go on a run, get all this energy out. I pause for a second, deciding who I should call. I can't call Tia, she's probably already with Meli in the courtyard, and I certainly can't call either of our pack's Betas. I need to talk it out, and all they're good for is going straight to Dallas like a bunch of gossiping school girls. I thumb through my contacts and end up hovering over my old friend Derrick Ryder. He was the top warrior in our graduating class, and now he's the top warrior in Tia's specialty division. I've seen him less and less over the years since Mom passed, but honestly, I've seen everyone less. Derrick was the only one to stop by to see me personally after she passed, and he checks in on me as much as he can. He's a good guy and a better warrior. If I ever ascend to Alpha, he'll be my first choice for Beta. I hesitate and then I hit call. It rings twice before he answers.

"Hello?"

"Hey Derrick, you busy or can you meet up for a run?"

"It's my day off, man. I haven't seen you in ages. I'll meet you at the spot in 20."

He hangs up abruptly, and I let out a long sigh of relief.

*****

In no time, I find myself stretching lazily at the south end of the estate, just ahead of a small clearing in the woods. Supposedly, this spot was trampled years and years ago when an opposing pack made a move to attack Dallas when he was first named Alpha. Our pack had beaten them back and followed them back to their pack house, where we effectively ended their line. It always struck me as a horrible story, but Dallas, his men, and the elders always spoke of it as the greatest victory Silvermoon had ever taken. Since then, the trampled path had become a regular running spot for a majority of the pack. It was well known and frequently patrolled, which gave everyone peace of mind. This morning, though, I asked the guards to take off for a few hours and leave the path to me and Derrick. Perks of being the heir apparent, I guess.

"Hey man!"

Derrick's voice rings out across the clearing as he sprints over, closing the gap in the blink of an eye. A smile creeps onto my face. I would hate to take him on in a fight; he's every wolf's worst nightmare. Strong, fast, and with a keen sense of smell that surpasses most packs’ tracking units.

"Derrick, good to see you, dude."

I slap a hand on his back, jostling him around a bit. He laughs heartily, before pausing to give me a weird expression.

"What's wrong with you, brother? I can feel your wolf's anxiety even without a link. Something really did a number on your ass, huh?"

I grunt. Leave it to Derrick to get straight to the heart of things without even trying. But this is exactly why I called him. I grit my teeth and force myself through the uncomfortable feeling growing in my chest.

"Let's shift and I'll tell you on the run over link."

Derrick raises an eyebrow but doesn't hesitate. He shifts instantly, gathers his clothes in his mouth, and takes off running; his voice echoes in my mind via our pack link.

"Catch me if you can, loser!"

I should know better, but I let him egg me on anyway. I follow suit, shifting instantly and taking off at a speed only an Alpha could reach. It's only seconds before I'm at his heel, playfully nipping at him like a pup.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Forgive me, my Alpha."

Derrick's voice is dripping with sarcasm as he slows to pace himself. I match his stride, running evenly beside him.

"So, tell me what's going on. It's not like the Chase I know to call me out of the blue, or to let your wolf out at top speed for that matter."

I sigh and start in on explaining the last 48 hours. It takes about a mile before Derrick is fully caught up. He's quiet for a bit, pensive even.

"Chase, have you ever seen Melissa's wolf? Or seen her eyes glow?"

I consider his question for a moment.

“No, actually, I haven't. I saw her eyes glow for a split second the day she passed out, but outside of that, no."

Derrick hums curiously to himself, then he comes to a stop. He sniffs around a tree before stretching and shifting back to his human form. I follow him, striding up to the tree and tossing my clothes on. Derrick turns to face me, a pensive look on his face.

"Is it possible that Melissa just doesn't know that she's experiencing a mate bond? If there's something wrong with her wolf, she probably wrote it off as a fluke. Or maybe she's got bigger fish to fry, since her wolf seems to be freaking out and making her sick."

I rub my chin, contemplating the idea. I suppose it hadn't really occurred to me that her wolf's erratic behavior had anything to do with it. I naively assumed she had overexerted herself during training, or that her wolf was reacting poorly to being suppressed so often and then suddenly exercised.

"You've got a point. I hadn't considered that possibility. Maybe I should talk to her about it...her wolf obviously, not the mate bond."

Derrick laughs out loud.

"You've really gotten awkward over the years, haven't you? You used to be pretty popular with the ladies back in the day, now you don't even know how to approach your own mate."

A scowl takes hold of my face, and I shove Derrick lightly into the tree.

"Have some respect, you're talking to your future Alpha."

Derrick wags a mischievous finger in my face.

"Ah, ah, ah. You're just one of two potential Alphas now, buddy."

I roll my eyes, realizing I had completely forgotten about that.

"Hey, if you guys get mated and married, then I think the old pack laws say you both become Alphas. That's pretty cool, right?"

I sigh.

"Not if her wolf is sick. Do you know what could cause something like that? Her fainting spell and the erratic wolf surfacing stuff?"

Derrick starts to respond before suddenly freezing and sniffing at the air.

"What's wrong?"

Instead of responding, Derrick moves further down the path, still sniffing the air. I follow him. He stops a few feet away from where we were standing, drops to his knees, and rifles through a pile of freshly fallen leaves. He gathers something in his hand and turns to face me. Presenting it to me, I can see that he's holding a single reddish-brown strand of hair between his thumb and index finger. Derrick's face is stoic and serious now, with no trace of the previous jester left.

"This is a wolf hair. More specifically, a hair from a Bloodmoon wolf, and it's recent."

I feel the color drain from my face all at once. That shouldn't be possible; the Bloodmoon pack was the pack Silvermoon supposedly destroyed all those years ago.

"Bring it with you; let's go. We need to call Dallas and arrange a pack meeting."